Okay, so I just received this Andreas Rogge 3-key chanter in ebony with boxwood mounts in the mail. It’s very pretty and given a bit more time to adjust to the California climate, should be sounding quite nice too. There’s just one minor problem: the action of the C natural key is very, very sluggish. It takes about a second for the damn thing to close. Presumeably the key is sprung too tightly or something. I’m not especially adept at things of a mechanical nature and don’t want to completely f**k up the key spring by impatiently messing around with it. Could someone please tell me how to go about fixing this in a calm, methodical manner? Explain it to me like I’m a six year old.
Hi Sport,
You want to remain calm first of all. The likelihood is that the key is being squeezed on it’s sides by the block it is in, the wood has probably shrunk slightly in transit. One thing you can do is put a tiny drop of almond oil on it, available for the least money at Asian Indian supermarkets… get some madras curry powder while you’re there 
The least amount of oil is needed. Ideally you could remove the key and apply the oil to all surfaces the key touches, then wipe off before replacing the key. If you can get 3 in 1 oil use that either. The idea is that you don’t want to use anything that will dry out and leave a residue, this can get very tacky. This should cure things for now though. If it doesn’t help try more oil… if that doesn’t work give the chanter time to acclimate to your location, after a week or so if it’s the same then it’s time to break out the file (a tricky business, file the metal of the key NOT THE WOOD of the block!!!) or bring it to a woodwind/brass instrument shop or pipemaker… probably your best option if the oil doesn’t work.
Good luck,
Patrick.
Aha–
Looking at it closely, I think you’re likely right about the wood pressing in on the sides. I’ll give your advice a try.
I think I might have some almond oil around the house already, but I could do with some more curry powder…
It’s the most common problem, for some reason you can’t win: if the wood contracts in dry air the keys will get stuck but if it’s damp and the wood expands they get squeezed too. :roll:
I don’t really like the “put some oil on it” bit but.., if it works for now.., why not.
A lot of grime will stick to it and make the key move even crappier imho.
The best thing to do is get the key out, (you will see where it’s stuck on the wood if it’s out the block) sand the sides with 1000 grit, stick it in to fit, as soon as it moves freely, polish it and put it back.
You might want a pipemaker to do this if you are not sure you can do it yourself though.
Good luck!